Some
become conditioned enlightened ones/The term "conditioned enlightened
ones" here includes Sound Hearers. Sound Hearers are those who awaken
to the Way upon hearing the Buddha's voice. Conditioned Enlightened Ones
attain the Way through cultivation of the Twelve Causal Conditions. Those
of the Sound Hearer Vehicle cultivate the Dharma of the Four Holy
Truths: suffering, origination, extinction, and the path. The Conditioned
Enlightened Ones cultivate the Dharmas of the Twelve Causal Conditions,
the first of which is 1) ignorance. They observe ignorance. Because of
ignorance, there is an improper 2) activity, false activity. This false
activity gives rise to a false 3) consciousness. With this false
consciousness, false 4) name and form arises. The false name and form
turns into the false 5) six entrances. With the false six entrances there
comes 6) contact. With contact comes 7) feeling. With feeling arises 8)
love. Why do you have love? Because you wish to experience certain
feelings. Love conditions 9) grasping. With love, there is selfishness.
One selfishly wishes to obtain one's love object. You want to appropriate
it for your very own. This is all selfish activity. When you get what you
want, that is the cause of 10) becoming. With becoming, there is future
11) birth. Future birth means 12) old age and death as well. Conditioned
Enlightened Ones cultivate these Twelve; they observe them all the way
from ignorance up to old age and death, step by step. "Oh; So all
along I was just being turned upside down by ignorance." If one
breaks through ignorance, the Dharma Nature manifests. Suddenly, they
break through ignorance. "Why should I run along after
ignorance?" they think, and they refuse to follow it. Not following
along with ignorance means not following along with living beings.
Instead, living beings follow you and you manifest the Dharma Nature, the
Dharma Nature being your inherent, true nature, your Buddha Nature. If you
don't break through ignorance, although you have not lost your Dharma
Nature, still, you can't use it. Conditioned Enlightened Ones work on
these twelve from #1 right down to #12. Then they take them back down the
line like this:

When
ignorance is extinguished, then activity is extinguished.

When
activity is extinguished, then name and form are extinguished.

When
name and form are extinguished, then the six senses are extinguished.

When
the six senses are extinguished, then contact is extinguished.

When
contact is extinguished, then feeling is extinguished.

When
feeling is extinguished, then love is extinguished.

When
love is extinguished, then grasping is extinguished.

When
grasping is extinguished, then becoming is extinguished.

When
becoming is extinguished, then birth is extinguished.

When
birth is extinguished, then old age and death are extinguished.

They
look into these coming and going and get enlightened all by themselves.
They are called those of the Conditioned Enlightened Vehicle.

The
text also mentions irreversible Bodhisattvas. Some Bodhisattvas retreat,
you know. For example Sariputra. He brought forth the Bodhisattva heart,
made Bodhisattva Vows, and practiced the Bodhisattva conduct. But he met
someone who wanted an eye and gave him the wrong eye. When the man refused
to take his eye, he retreated from his Bodhisattva heart. "Ahh! It is
indeed difficult to practice the Bodhi­sattva Path. I quit." he
said, and retreated. The Bodhisattvas mentioned in the text do not
retreat.

Technically,
there are Three Types of Irreversibility: Irreversible practice,
irreversible position, and irreversible thought.

The
irreversible practice is the first. If you want to practice as a
Bodhisattva,
you better think it over clearly first. Why? The Buddhadharma is extremely
difficult to practice. When you don't understand the Buddhadharma, you may
think it's very simple and easy to study. Who would have guessed that it
is just the hardest thing there is to do. To study the Buddhadharma you
have to be patient and you have to be firm, and sincere, and persevering.
These three qualities: firmness, sincerity, and perseverance are all
necessary in your study.

Firmness:
you must think, "My wish to study the Buddhadharma is more solid than
a diamond. Diamonds may be the hardest things there are, but I am even
more firm in my resolve. It shouldn't be the case that you today wish to
study the Buddhadharma and tomorrow you give it up, and by the day after
that you have forgotten it entirely. That's not being firm at all.

You
must also be sincere. If you are sincere you won't be afraid of any kind
of difficulty, suffering, or hardship. Thirdly, you have to persevere. You
can't give up as soon as the going gets a bit rough. You can't ever quit.
That's being irreversible. In your cultivation you should only go forward
vigorously and never turn back or retreat.

The
second kind of irreversibility is that of position. The Bodhisattva gives
rise to the Great Vehicle Bodhisattva Heart and would never retreat to the
Two Vehicles. Even if they have to chop up their bodies and grind their
bones and give their head, eyes, brains, and ^narrow, they will give them
to living beings and never regret it. They would never retreat to the Two
Vehicles.

The
third kind of irreversibility is that of thought Their Great Vehicle
Bodhisattva Hearts never change. They are constantly giving rise to the
Bodhisattva Heart. Bodhisattvas benefit all living beings. You must be
good to all living beings.

There
are several people here who have already left home; there are some who
would like to leave home, but have not yet done so. Others are still
thinking it over and they haven't decided for certain yet. They want to
leave home, but are afraid to commit themselves; they want to stay at home
but are afraid they will fall. They can't make up their minds and so they
haven't reached the state of a Bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas only care about
others; they don't care about themselves. They only think to benefit
others; they don't think to benefit themselves. They only care to benefit
others; they don't care about helping themselves. Bodhisattvas help
others but they don't hold on to the thought of having helped them; they
do it and forget it. They feel that helping others is just helping
themselves. They don't go around bragging about it. It's enough that the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas know what they did; it doesn't matter if other
people know. Further, if you practice the Bodhisattva path, take special
care not to disturb other living beings. If you want to cultivate, don't
cause other living beings to have afflictions. If you cause one person to
have afflictions, then towards that person you have not perfectly walked
the Bodhisattva path. If you cause two living beings to have
afflictions, then towards them both you have not walked the Bodhisattva
path. You must not cause others to become afflicted. Do not hurt other
people with your words or deeds. In general, in every move and word don't
cause others to be unhappy with you. In this way your cultivation will be
successful. If you think, "I can ignore other people and do
whatever I like,

say whatever I like. If you get angry, well, the more the better. The more
afflicted you get the better." If you think like that, you won't be
able to cultivate the Way and if you try to cultivate you will run into
many demon obstacles. If you cause others to have afflictions, they
will certainly cause you to have afflictions so that in the future a lot
of demonic obstructions will arise for you. So, people who wish to leave
the home life and cultivate must take care not to obstruct others. You
must always keep a close watch over your body and mind to see if you are
doing things wrong, saying improper things, or hurting others and causing
them to get afflicted. You should always look within yourself like this.
Don't hurt others. That's the Bodhisattva heart. Bodhisattvas are
irreversible in position, thought, and practice. They never retreat from
the Bodhi mind.

Sutra:

Sariputra!

I,
for living beings,

Employ
this parable,

To
speak of the One Buddha Vehicle.

If
all of you are able

To
believe and to accept these words,

All
of you shall, in the future,

Realize
the Buddha Way.

This
vehicle 's subtle and wonderful,

Pure
and foremost;

And
in all the worlds

It
is the most supreme.

The
Buddhas rejoice in it,

And
all living beings

Should
praise it as well,

Make
offerings and bow before it.

Limitless
thousands of millions

Of
powers, and liberations,

Dhyana
samadhis, and wisdom,

And
the Buddhas other Dharmas,

Are
obtained in a vehicle such as this.

Outline:

3.
This is the tying together of the analogy of giving all a great cart. It
has two parts of which this is the first a. tying together the
"giving to all."

Commentary:

Sariputra!/I, for living
beings/Sakyamuni Buddha says, "Sariputra, I now for the sake of all
living beings employ this parable, use an analogy, to speak of the One
Buddha Vehicle/If all of you are able/to believe and to accept these
words/All of you Sound Hearers, Conditioned Enlightened Ones, and
Bodhisattvas, if you can deeply believe in the Dharma which I have spoken,
the Dharma of the Buddha Vehicle...Previously you were taught the Three
Vehicles, but that was only Provisional Dharma, Provisional Wisdom.
This, now, is real. Don't think that what you heard before was correct and
have doubts about the Real Wisdom you heard just now. You should listen to
what I say, "believe and accept these words," and then all of
you shall, in the future/realize the Buddha Way. You shall all become
Buddhas.

This vehicle's subtle and wonderful/The
Buddha Vehicle is especially fine and miraculous. All you have to do is
have faith and you can become a Buddha. You don't necessarily have to do a
certain amount of merit and virtue, or cultivate like I did in the past
for three great asamkhyeya kalpas in order to become a Buddha. Now, I have
taught you the Dharma door of the One "Buddha Vehicle, and all you
have to do is believe and you have a chance to become a Buddha. Pure and
foremost/This is the foremost of pure Dharmas. And in all the worlds/it is
the most supreme/There is nothing higher than the One Buddha Vehicle. It
is the unsurpassed Dharma door. The Buddhas rejoice in it/The Buddhas
like this Dharma door best of all. And all living beings/all you living
beings should praise it as well/make offerings and bob) before it/ The
Great Vehicle's Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra is what you should
worship. Limitless thousands of millions/of powers, and liberations/the
Buddhas' Ten Wisdom Powers and Eight Liberations, Dhyana Samadhis and
wisdom/ and the Buddhas' other Dharmas/are obtained with a vehicle such as
this/You have no idea how many offerings you have made in the past in
order to meet up with this Dharma door now and obtain the Buddha Vehicle;
this is a very rare affinity. Don't think it's very easy to meet up with.

Sutra:

I
cause all my sons,

Night
and day, for many aeons,

Ever
to amuse themselves

In
the company of the Bodhisattvas,

And
the host of Sound Hearers,

Riding
this precious vehicle

Straight
to the field of the Way.

For
these reasons the,

Though
they seek in the ten directions,

There
is no other vehicle

Except
for the Buddhas' expedients.

Outline:

This
is b. tying together their rejoicing.

Commentary:

All the
living beings have been given the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma; it has been
spoken equally for all living beings. Now, in this passage, the Buddha
tells all living beings they should be happy. I cause all my sons/all
living beings, night and day, for many aeons/What is meant by
"day"? When all living beings obtain the Buddha's real wisdom,
that is like the day. When all living beings have not yet exhausted their
ignorance, that is like the "night." Ignorance is the night;
wisdom is the day. "Many aeons" refers to a great stretch of
time. Ever to amuse themselves/for a short time "night and
day," or for a long time "many aeons." The long period of
time points to the living beings who were taught and transformed by the
Buddha at the time of the Buddha Sun-Moon-Lamp. It's been a long time
since then. They "ever amuse themselves" by cultivating the
Great Vehicle Dharma. In the company of the Bodhisattvas/and the host of
Sound Hearers/and Conditioned Enlightened Ones. Riding this precious
vehicle. They rely on the Great Vehicle, the Buddha Vehicle in
cultivation.
Straight to the field of the Way/to the stage of Bodhi's enlightened
fruition,
to the realization of Buddhahood. For this reason, then/though they seek
in the ten directions/Look as you will for another dharma like it in all
the ten directions, there is no other vehicle/There's nothing higher or
more wonderful than this Dharma. Except for the Buddhas' expedients. If
you found some other vehicle, it would simply be one of the Buddhas'
expedient dharmas, set up to teach and transform living beings.

Sutra:

I
tell you, Sariputra, that all of you

Are
my children and I am your father.

For
many aeons, you have been burned by many miseries,

And
I have saved you all, leading you out of the Triple Realm.

Although
earlier I said that you had passed into extinction,

It
was only an end to birth and death and not the real extinction.

What
you should accomplish now, is nothing but the Buddhas' wisdom.

If
there are Bodhisattvas within this multitude

They
can single mindedly listen to the Buddha's real Dharma.

Though
the Buddhas, World Honored Ones, employ expedient devices,

The
living beings whom they teach all are Bodhisattvas.

Outline:

This is part four. The verse tying in
the "non falseness.

Commentary:

I
tell you Sariputra/Sakyamuni Buddha continues speaking to Sariputra
saying, "All of you living beings, Bodhisattvas, Sound Hearers,
Conditioned Enlightened Ones, Bhiksus, Bhiksunis," that all of
you/are my children/You study the Buddhadharma and you have brought forth
the Bodhi heart and you are all my children. And I am your father/Since
you are the Buddha's children, then I, the Buddha, am your father. For
many aeons, you/all you living beings, have passed through an extremely
long period of time, lifetime after lifetime, for limitless boundless
great aeons, and have been burned by many miseries/The Three, Eight, and
Limitless Sufferings, all these sufferings have burned and scorched you.
And I have saved you all/At all times I have been busy saving you from the
fires of suffering. Leading you out of the Triple Realm/Leading you out
of the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm. Although
earlier I said/that you had passed into extinction/ that you had already
reached extinction, that was merely an expedient device; it was only an
end to birth and death/and not real extinction. You have only ended Share
section birth and death, but you have by no means ended Change birth
and death. Speaking in terms of Real Wisdom, real Dharma, you have not
gained extinction. What you should accomplish now/is nothing but the
Buddhas' wisdom/Your job now is to study the Buddha's wisdom. You should
practice genuine Dharma.

If
there are Bodhisattvas/if there be Bodhisattvas within this multitude/In
this great assembly, they can single mindedly listen to/the Buddha's real
Dharma/the genuine Dharma door, which I am speaking. This is the Real
Wisdom Dharma; it is not Provisional Dharma.

Though
the Buddhas, the World Honored Ones/employ expedient devices/ they use
expedient
devices, the living beings whom they teach/the beings they convert by
"bestowing the provisional for the sake of the real," and
setting forth the Dharma of the Three Vehicles, all are Bodhisattvas/The
expedient Dharma doors are taught for the sake of the real, the genuine
Dharma. So all the living beings they teach are in reality Bodhisattvas
and they should retreat from the small and go towards the great,
cultivating the Bodhisattva practices.

Sutra:

If
there are those of little wisdom, deeply attached to love and desire,

For
their sakes I teach the truth of suffering.

Living
beings then rejoice gaining what they never nod,

For
the Buddha's teaching of suffering 's truth is true, real, and not false.

If
there are living beings who know not suffering's origin,

And
are deeply attached to suffering's cause, unable to lease it for even a
moment,

For
their sakes, I expediently speak of the path.

The
cause of all suffering is rooted in greed and desire.

If
one extinguishes greed and desire suffering has nothing to rest upon.

The
extinction of all suffering is called the third truth.

For
the sake of the truth of extinction one cultivates the path;

Leaving
all suffering's bonds is called the attainment of liberation.

From
what is it that these people have been liberated?

The
mere separation from the false they call liberation.

In
reality they have not yet attained, to total liberation.

The
Buddha says that these people have not really reached, extinction.

Because
they have not yet attained the Unsurpassed Path.

I
am the Dharma King at ease within all the Dharmas,

To
bring peace and tranquility to living beings

I
manifest in the world.

Commentary:

If there are those of little wisdom/If
there are those living beings who do not have great wisdom, in fact, they
don't really have any "small" wisdom, either. Deeply attached to
love and desire/They are profoundly addicted to love and lust. Here we are
referring to the delusions of views and the delusions of thought. View
delusions means that when something happens you don't understand it and
get confused by it. Thought delusions means that you can't figure out
clearly in your mind what is true and what is false, what is right and
what is wrong. Although you can't tell the different, you still keep
trying to; you keep thinking it over, thinking it over, but you lack the
wisdom to decide properly. For their sakes I/for living beings like this,
I teach the truth of suffering/I teach the first of the Four Holy Truths,
which is the Truth of Suffering. Living beings then rejoice/Before, living
beings thought that suffering was bliss. Although they were in a state of
suffering, they did not realize that they were suffering. Now that I have
taught them about the Truth of Suffering, they are extremely happy. They
are gaining what they never had/They had never heard such a wonderful
Dharma. For the Buddha's teaching of suffering's truth/is true, real, and
not false/It's really real; It's not wrong. It is really, really true
Dharma.

If
there are living beings/who know not suffering's origin/What is the origin
of suffering? It is the second of the Pour Holy Truths, the Truth of
Origination. And are deeply attached to suffering's cause/Origination is
the cause of suffering and suffering is the fruit, or result of
Origination.
Thus, they are deeply attached to the cause of suffering, origination.
Origination is just affliction. There are six kinds of basic
afflictions. There are ten minor following afflictions, two middle
following afflictions, and eight great following afflictions. These twenty
six kinds of afflictions are the cause of suffering.

Unable
to leave it for even a moment/They don't wish to separate from these
afflictions
for any length of time at all. For their sakes, I/For living beings like
this expediently speak of the path/I speak of the Path which is to be
cultivated, of the expedient Dharma door.

The
cause of suffering/ is rooted in greed and desire/Suffering comes from
origination,
and the most important factor in origination is greed and desire.

What
is greed? It means never being satisfied. No matter how much one gets,
it's not enough. Say, to begin with you didn't even have a hundred
dollars. In your greed you think of a way to get a hundred dollars,
thinking that you would then be satisfied. But once you get that hundred
dollars, you feel it's still not enough. "I need a thousand,"
you think. When you've got a thousand you still aren't satisfied. "I
want some clothes. I really need a house and a piece of land. So this is
not enough. If I had ten thousand dollars I'd really be satisfied. In
fact, I'd retire. I'd never want anything again or be greedy for anything
else. That would do it, really." But then when you get ten thousands
dollars, what with inflation and everything else..."Everything's
going up, you know," you say. You'd like to retire, but "that's
really still not enough," you think. "I've got to have a hundred
thousand then I'll be set to retire. I can't retire yet."

So you
greedily go after a hundred thousand and it's still not enough! Suddenly
your greed gets entirely out of hand and you go after a million, but
before you get it, it comes tine to die, and as you die you think, "I
wanted a million dollars but I never, did reach my aim. I'll try again
next life for sure." But in your next life you turn into a horse or a
cow.

So
what advantages does greed have anyway? With greed there is misery, for
greed is the root of suffering. If one extinguishes greed and desire/
suffering has nothing to rest upon/If you have no greed or desire then
there will be no suffering. If you wish to get rid of suffering, first of
all you must get rid of greed. If you have no greed or desire then
suffering has no root, nothing to rest on, no place to stay. The
extinction of all suffering/ is called the third truth/the Truth of
Extinction, the Third of the Four Holy Truths. For the sake of the truth
of extinction/one cultivates the Path/If you want to attain the Truth of
Extinction, you must first cultivate the Way. Leaving all suffering's
bonds/is called the attainment of liberation/Leaving all those things
which bind us in suffering is liberation from the world. Why is one not
liberated? Because one can't see through it, can't put it down. Until one
can see through everything and put it all down, one cannot be liberated.
When you can see through it and put it down, that is freedom, that is
release.

Ah...people
are greedy for this and greedy for that. Why? Because they can't put it
down. If, while alive, you can look upon yourself as already dead, then,
since you are already dead, why bother to slave away for your body? If you
can be a "living dead person" you won't be attached to anything.
You'll see through everything and that's just the attainment of
liberation. From what is it that/these people have been liberated? The
mere separation from the false/they call liberation/Those who have
cultivated and put

an end to the delusions of views and thought thus
ending share section birth and death may call this liberation, but in
reality they have not yet/attained to total liberation/To attain to total
still extinction and ultimate liberation, you must see through everything
and let it go. I often say to you," With me, everything's okay."
This may seem very shallow, but its meaning is quite profound. As long as
something's a problem for you, then you have not been liberated. When
there are no more problems, then you've been freed. You are just like
empty space. Who can tie up empty space? Who can tie it down? When you are
no longer greedy for fame, you are liberated from fame. When you no
longer seek profit, then you are liberated from profit. Freed from fame
and profit, what else is there to keep you down? Nothing.
Although the Buddha taught that the Four
Holy Truths led to liberation, this is not, in reality, liberation. Why
not? Because one only ends share section birth and death. Change birth and
death is still present. As long as you have change birth and death, you
are still not free because you still haven't put it down. The Buddha says
that these people/have not really reached extinction/They are not yet
truly extinct, they really have not been liberated. Because they have
not yet attained/the Unsurpassed Path/ They haven't attained the Supreme
Way; they have not ended change birth and death. It is not any wish/it is
not my intention before they have any real attainment to lead them to
extinction./

I am the Dharma King/at ease within all
the Dharmas/Among all the Dharmas am the king. Speaking coming and going,
it's the Dharma. Broadly and minutely, it's the Dharma. Coming and going,
broadly and minutely, I am at ease within all the Dharmas. However I
explain it, it is correct. To bring peace and tranquility to living
beings/I manifest in the world/Why do I manifest in the world? I want
living beings to be at peace, to attain ultimate happiness and ultimate
liberation. That is why the Buddha appears in the world.